Getting Lost

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - So, the theme of the past 24 seems to be "Getting Lost."

Last night was a lot of fun. I spent the night hanging out with a big group from the hostel. There was a lot of throwing together of costumes. Not many were prepared for the evening. Luckily, Tom and Meigs gave me a set of mustaches as a going away present (seems very important for a trip such as this, if you know me). They came in very handy. Yet another Halloween of a costume mostly consisting of a mustache and aviators.

Generalissimo Marules plans to take over the world!



A little YMCA-ish, but it'll do in a pinch.

There were many others who were without costumes so, in the spirit of this trip, I decided I should share. The mustaches made the night... although everyone should have already assumed this. We are talking about mustaches, after all.





The mustache revolution was short lived, sadly. It seems this is why we don't grow double-sided tape out of our upper lips. This is not how mustaches were meant to be attached. It was an important, although brief, revolution. Viva la Mustache!

We all headed out and the decision was made to go to the Castro, for better or worse. For anyone uninformed (as I was just a couple days ago), the Castro is the gay district in SF. And well known for it's annual Halloween party. Unfortunately, as always, a couple assholes had to go an ruin a good time. There has been increasing violence in past years, and if I'm not mistaken, a shooting during the last bash.

So the powers that be in SF decided it was a no go this year. It was only at the last minute they decided to put in some porta-potties just in case. Seemed it was unnecessary.

We took a quick ride on the subway here (which is really nice) and headed quickly to the neighborhood.



When we got there, we discovered that while there were plenty of clubs and plenty of people inside these, there definitely wasn't anything going on in the streets. So, we made the best of it.











Overall, a good time. It gave me the chance to dance, dance, dance the night away. Unfortunately, I was became separated from the bunch, which was a bit of a problem since we took the subway and I had no clue where exactly I was. But, I figured it out and hoofed it all the way back. I was so ready for sleep after a long day, but was a little disappointed that Halloween was over.

I will say this, SF sure does love some Halloween. All day long, there were people decked out in costume all over the city. A fantastic place. It's growing on me.

This afternoon I decided to make use of Tom's suggestion and get myself lost. Rather than picking random directions or having him send me wherever, I chose to let the crosswalks do all the decision making for me. Whichever path had the "Walk" sign is the one I took. Street after street, I slowly wound my way through SF. I ended up at Fisherman's Wharf at one point, which was very touristy but nice.



I had a chance to see Alcatraz and a Destroyer ship. While I's pretty sure I saw these things as a kid here, I really don't remember them.





I spent a lot more of the day, wandering about. This activity seems to be the heart of this trip more than anything else, sticking most closely to the true intent.

Wandering felt good. Even if walking up the hills in this city is a real bitch. You don't feel it until later. Sitting here right now, I'm feeling my feet and calves throb. It's good though. And probably not a bad idea for me to get some exercise.

I'm choosing to describe my hair as "Windswept" rather than "Totally Effed" or "Toupee-ish." I strongly suggest everyone get on board.



I have started to notice how the quality of my writing suffers considerably when I'm tired. In the interest of doing a good job writing about what happened later in my day, I'm choosing to stop here and get some quality sleep.

More tomorrow.